What started as a check on a parked car at Locust Street and Woodside Terrace ended with Springfield officers pulling a loaded, large-capacity firearm, suspected narcotics and cash from a stolen vehicle, authorities said.
Police arrested 24-year-old Haleem Payne after spotting an occupied stolen vehicle at the intersection and detaining the driver at the scene. Payne was taken into custody and faces a list of firearm and drug charges, city officials said.
Officers assigned to Squad A, including a field training officer working with a recent police academy graduate, spotted the occupied vehicle and moved in to detain the driver, who was later identified as Payne, according to a post by the Springfield Police Department.
In a Facebook post, the department said officers found “a large-capacity firearm with a barrel extension and an extended magazine loaded with 19 rounds of ammunition” inside a bag in the vehicle. Officers also reported recovering suspected crack-cocaine, three bags of heroin, the vehicle’s key fob, $215 from the car and $615 from Payne. The department notes that a full list of items seized and the charges can be found on its Facebook page.
Charges and booking
Police say Payne is charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle; carrying a firearm without a license; carrying a loaded large-capacity firearm without a license; possession of a large-capacity magazine; possession of ammunition without an FID card; and multiple counts of possession with intent to distribute (Class A, B and D). He was booked at the Springfield Police Department and was being held pending arraignment, according to the department.
Where this fits
Police say the seizure is the latest in a string of gun busts by Springfield officers and the department’s Firearms Investigation Unit this spring. Detectives recently seized an AR-style rifle with a 30-round magazine during a traffic stop, as reported in a stolen AR-style rifle bust, and local coverage from Western Mass News shows similar seizures in recent years.
Legal context
Massachusetts law bans possession, sale and importation of certain assault-style weapons and large-capacity feeding devices; the statute defines those devices and outlines criminal penalties for unlawful possession. See the state’s language on unlawful possession of assault weapons and large-capacity devices at Mass. Gen. Laws Chapter 140 §131M.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Springfield Police non-emergency line at (413) 787-6300 or use the department’s web tip options listed on its website. The department says the investigation is ongoing and that additional details may be released after arraignment.
